/awat/ thing

There's a shrine not too far from his apartment that he likes to visit when he's stressed out.

Don't get him wrong, moving to /hlgg/ has been great. He's starting a new career in Research and Development with Watson Industries LLC, and living in the big city has been exciting.

It's just overwhelming sometimes.

Yesterday, when he was buying tea, a random stranger yelled at him for wearing a kilt. Sure, /hlgg/ has a different culture, but so many of his fellow countrymen have emigrated here you'd think they'd be more tolerant - the blatant hostility had surprised him.

And the office politics were getting tiring. Last week, a mysterious stack of papers was found in the breakroom. They were new designs - beautifully drawn and annotated and nothing like what any of the teams had been working on. Now everyone was getting into petty slapfights over whether Ame herself had dropped them off and who gets to work on them.

It's a nice thought, even if he thinks it's probably just one of the company's many corporate spies misplacing intel. Didn't stop one of his coworkers from giving him the stinkeye and calling him a non-believer.

So he's here at the shrine to calm and centre himself and hope it's enough to stop him from punching someone.

He nods in greeting to one of the shrine employees tending to the moss and various plants that line the approach to the Bowl.

On a simple wooden table is a simple, white, ceramic bowl, looking for all the world like the same dirt cheap ones you could get at the market. Despite sitting outside, the bowl is perfectly clean.

He reaches into the bag he brought and reverently places the contents into the bowl. A couple of slighty misshappen homemade blueberry muffins. Gluten-free, of course.

They're not the prettiest, but the ones he tried were decently tasty, in his opinion. Still, he's a little anxious about whether it's acceptable. Money's tight and he can't really afford the ultra-fancy treats from the ritzy bakeries downtown.

He closes his eyes and claps his hands together in prayer. "Hope you're having a good day, Boss. What did you eat today? How are the pets?"

It's peaceful. Just the rustling of leaves from the shrine's many trees. Quiet enough to feel like he's back in the forests of rural /awat/.

A few droplets hit his face and he opens his eyes to look up in confusion. Rain? That wasn't in the forecast.

It's a gentle pitterpattering against his skin and all around him, even as the sun warms his face. A sunshower. An auspicious sign. He can't help the smile on his face.

His shirt's getting wet, so he turns to find an eave to hide under, but stops in place when he notices.

The Bowl is empty.